Tyngsboro company on magazine's 'Best of What's New' list

The Lowell Sun
Check out video of the LandShark

TYNGSBORO, Mass. -- Tyngsboro-based Black-i Robotics, a small company with a big mission, has landed its LandShark robotic vehicle on Popular Science's "Best of What's New" list, making it one of the magazine's top 100 technical innovations of 2008.

The LandShark is featured in the magazine's December issue. An unmanned ground vehicle used for defense and Homeland Security purposes, is designed to extend human capabilities on battlefields and first-responder situations, for such things as sentry duties and chemical spills, according to Black-i Robotics. It's more powerful, and at $70,000, costs about half of other unmanned ground vehicles on the market, and the Tyngsboro company recently drew an $800,000 U.S. government contract.

Black-i Robotics was formed in 2006 by Brian Hart, the Bedford man whose 20-year-old son, John, died in action in Iraq, while riding in an unarmored Humvee. Brian Hart became an outspoken advocate for better protecting troops, and was no stranger to the halls of Congress.

He left his job at a Fortune 50 company in 2004 to make his case.

Brian Hart's dream is reaching the front lines.

"That's John's legacy," Hart told the magazine.

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